1. Field of the Invention
The principles of the present invention relate generally to an improved telecommunication system, and in particular, to an improved method of using a communication device. Still more particularly, the principles of the present invention relate to a method, apparatus, and computer usable program product for presenting interactive information about a telecommunication user on the communication device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Telecommunication involves two or more communication devices communicating with each other using a communication network. For example, two telephones may be able to communicate with each other using a telecommunication network called public switched telephone network (PSTN). PSTN is primarily a voice telecommunication network for enabling telephone-based telecommunications between two or more parties.
Data processing systems are often connected with other devices and data processing systems using a data network. The data network provides the networked data processing systems and devices with a communications medium over which data may be exchanged with each other.
Many types of wired and wireless networks are available for networking data processing systems, as well as communication devices. Wired networks utilize physical wires that can carry electrical data signals for connecting data processing systems and communication devices to communicate over the network. Wireless networks generally utilize radio waves for connecting the data processing systems and communication devices to the network in a wireless manner.
A communication device is a device from which a telecommunication call may be placed or received. The term “communication devices” refers to the collection of all devices used for telecommunication. For example, a communication device can be the familiar telephone, a computer with a telecommunication enabling software application (generally known as a softphone), a telephone-like device that works over data networks instead of a plain old telephone system (POTS) line, a wireless or cellular phone, or any other device used for telecommunication. A communication device is any one of these communication devices. Communication devices may also include devices and applications capable of communicating in other ways, for example, by text messaging, instant messaging including text, audio, video, images, and documents.
Various communication devices are capable of communicating with each other using a variety of networks. Some communication devices are able to communicate using analog signals over telecommunication networks, which are generally analog communication networks. Other communication devices, such as a voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) enabled telephone, communicate over data networks. VOIP is a telecommunication method for transmitting voice communications over a data network such as the Internet. Common VOIP implementations are in telephony where telephone conversations are partly or entirely carried over the Internet from a caller telephone to a called telephone. A VOIP call is a voice call connected using VOIP technology.
Certain presently available communication devices include telephony as well as data capabilities. These communication devices may conduct telephony using telecommunication network, data network, or both. For example, a phone may have access to only a telecommunication network on which the phone places and receives telecommunication calls. The phone, however, may also be able to make a data call by including a modem and using a dial-up service to connect to a data network, such as the Internet. As another example, a phone may have access to both telecommunication and data networks. The phone may use a telecommunication network for making a traditional analog call and the data network for making a VOIP call.
A calling party, calling user, or a caller, is a person or entity placing a telecommunication call. A called patty, or a called user, is a person or entity receiving a telecommunication call. A calling communication device is a communication device used for placing a telecommunication call. A called communication device is a communication device used for receiving a telecommunication call. A calling phone number, or a caller phone number, is a number associated with the calling communication device. A called phone number is a number associated with a called communication device. A calling party name, or a caller name, is the name of the calling party. A called party name is the name of the called party.
Caller identification (Caller ID) is a feature commonly known to the telecommunication industry and to the users of telecommunication services. When a call is received on a communication device equipped with a display screen, such as on a modem day wireline or wireless phone, generally, a calling phone number with or without a name associated with the calling phone number is displayed on the communication device's display screen. Calling phone number with or without an associated name is called “caller ID.”
Caller ID is also known as calling line identification (CLI) when provided via an ISDN connection to a private automatic branch exchange (PABX). In some countries, the terms caller display, call display, calling line identification presentation (CLIP), call capture, or just calling line identity (CLID) are also used to describe the caller ID feature.
Modifications to the caller ID include using an address in place of the name, such as for 911 purposes. However, caller ID is insufficient for information exchange, such as for messaging between users. Furthermore, a user cannot do much more with the caller ID information than receive the caller ID information as conventional caller ID is not of a nature that a user may interact with the displayed caller ID information.